I may not have shared it here, but I actually didn't have a confinement nanny during the first month after post-partum. And I survived! We ordered confinement food delivery and the whole village helped out (yes, we even had help from the extended family.) After I was freed from confinement (hate that period by the way), I started taking over my baby's duties in piece-meal.
I felt most things were quite manageable. The washing machine did the laundry. There were a lot of pump parts and bottles to be washed so I ended up taking out more bottles to be used so that I could reduce the number of washes. I am still staying with my in-laws and we do have a helper, so that help a bit on the household chores.
There was one thing that daunted me big time. It took me 3 months before I can confidently say "my baby now enjoy bath-time with me". Finally, we are having fun. My MIL and the hub's aunt was helping out during the first 3 months. I did a lot of eye power observation and sometimes I would pretend wash a pillow *embarrassed chuckle*
The choice of bath tub is very important. Ours was a foldable piece from Shears in my favorite Tiffany Blue shade ($36.90), which was spacious enough for our baby to grow up with. If you are staying with your in-laws or have space constraints, do consider foldables as they are very compact! So far, I find this piece very sturdy and durable. I am quite clumsy when it comes to moving big pieces but so far this bath tub still looks as good as new. My favorite feature is the star plug. When filled with water, gosh the bath tub can be so heavy. Tip: I always unplug it after we are done and just go about my day. When the tub is empty then I keep it effortlessly. Hehe.
Some quick tips on bathing a baby now that I have mastered the skill. Always prepare everything you need ahead! Usually, I would strip my child and wrap his bottom in a diaper cloth (lest he pee) and hang his towel over my neck (following the elder's methods). I sit on a stool when I bathe him for better balance. To prepare him for bath-time, I will splash some water on his chest to test his comfort level with the water temperature.
We start off with shampooing his head and washing his face with a cloth (outside the bath-tub). I find it easier to soap his body before placing him in the bath-tub. To wash his front, I would place him in a lying position, with my arm behind his back and grab his other arm with my hands. To wash his back, I would place him in a burping position. Now he is a bit older, I let him drag his bath time a little and let him splash about. There is still quite a bit of room in the bath-tub for us to introduce him bath toys (stay tune to read about them!)
After he is done with bath time, I will just quickly wrap him up in the clean towel. After placing him on the changing mat, he will be dried and dressed up as fast as I possibly can to prevent him from catching a cold and him flipping away naked. *Gosh* Can you spot our clothes from Little BB Love (read our review and discount code here!) and diapers from Pee-Ka-Poo (Read our review on their products here!)
Shears is a local baby toy and gift set maker. Their variety of baby products is amazing and we will be reviewing more of them here. Bookmark "Shears Baby" tag if you want to find out all about them!